Efficiency, activity, productivity, mobility, aggressiveness - these are the qualities that a crazy whirlwind of modern life requires of us. We are many-sided, many-armed, swift, we are trying to succeed in everything, we are tireless and inexhaustible. Where do the forces come from for a frantic race?
A modern socially active person rests only in a dream, therefore, well-being provides us with an exceptionally healthy sleep. How many hours are we supposed to sleep? What should a dream be like in order to fully restore our strength, and the next morning we were ready to rush again into a victorious battle with countless hordes of worries and problems?
Why does a person need to sleep
Why do we need a healthy sleep? How many hours is needed for a good rest? The thing is that our brain regulates literally all the processes in our body.
He is a generator of intelligence, and therefore a source of new ideas, the right decisions leading to success. He is responsible for the development of reflexes, and therefore, for the clarity of reactions, and muscle, and psychological, and social.
The emotional sphere, enthusiasm and positive attitude depend on it. It regulates the hormonal background, determines libido, that is, it practically determines personal life.
Metabolism depends on it. For example, how many hours do you need for a healthy sleep in order not to get fat? After all, American studies have shown that people who are not getting enough sleep quickly gain weight.
Intense and multifaceted workload depletes the brain by the end of the day. He needs to be restored, and it is only possible in a dream. How long should a healthy sleep last for the brain to fully recover? What happens to us in a dream?
What happens in a dream
During sleep, complex intensive neurophysiological processes occur in the human brain. Everyone heard about the fast and slow phases of sleep. Who probably knows what this means for each of us?
The phases of sleep, fast and slow, alternate and create cycles. Cycles run one after another and clearly, it is proven, limited in time by about a hundred minutes.
The REM phase is characterized by a pronounced blood flow to the area of the brain responsible for memory and emotions, that is, it plays an important role in the formation of memories. In this phase, with complete external passivity of the sleeper, the activity of the cortical layer of the brain remains almost half, alpha rhythms are recorded on the EEG. That is, while we sleep, the brain analyzes the information received per day.
In addition, in this phase there is an intense release of adrenal hormones into the bloodstream, intensification of cerebral blood flow, fluctuations in blood pressure and pulse, and erection. Awakening in the REM sleep phase guarantees good health.
In the phase of slow sleep, alpha rhythms gradually disappear, but visceral connections are activated. Laboratory studies of the last 5 years have proved that in the phase of slow sleep, the functions of the visceral, i.e. internal organs, are regulated. Since the cerebral cortex is inactive at this moment, awakening in the phase of slow sleep will negatively affect one's well-being.
To avoid waking up in the slow phase, you must try to program the duration of sleep by the number of hours that is a multiple of 1.5. Not only how much a healthy sleep lasts, but the frequency of its duration is 1.5.
How to organize your dream? How to exclude everything that could interfere with a meeting with Morpheus? How to ensure peace for as many hours as you need for a healthy sleep?
Observe the physiological clock
Bed should be until 22.00. Doctors-somnologists insist: the right time for sleep: from 22.00 to 07.00. You yourself noticed that being late in bed, then you cannot fall asleep for a long time. This is because you are tired and overexcited, and the excitement is nothing but the initial stage of fatigue. And your temporary recovery closer to night is a symptom of growing fatigue.
Therefore, it is important not only how many hours a healthy sleep lasts, but also when you sleep. The period of sleep should fall on the physiologically corresponding clock. It is proved that the quality of sleep is much higher if it starts before 22.00. The most effective sleep for a good rest - started before midnight.
Adhere to the regime
Thus, we found out that the sleep mode is not a trifle and not a whim, which can sometimes be neglected. Follow the established routine once and for all. It should become mandatory for you, in the end - familiar.
What does it mean “familiar” to humans in a neurophysiological sense? This means that you have successfully coped with developing a conditioned reflex. A persistent reflex has formed - to fall asleep at a certain time.
Not so important, you sleep for 6, 7 or 8 hours. How many hours a person’s healthy sleep lasts does not matter, first of all, he must be timely. Do not depart from the daily routine on weekends or holidays. In this case, a violation is tantamount to destruction, and all the efforts made earlier can go down the drain. Stability should be the watchword for healthy sleep.
Do not overeat and do not starve
Do not go to bed with a full stomach. There is a rule - do not eat tightly in the last four hours before bedtime. Eat exactly as much as you need for a healthy sleep.
For dinner, you should not plan meat, spicy, salty, fatty and fried dishes, they will not give you rest in a dream and leave their mark on the face in the morning. Give preference to vegetable and fish dishes, stewed and boiled. Carbohydrate food contributes to falling asleep: cereals, casseroles, mashed vegetable soups with cereals.
Do not drink coffee and caffeinated drinks in the evening. Cocoa, chocolate, alcohol also do not contribute to healthy sleep. Their tonic effect reaches its peak three hours after ingestion, just in time for falling asleep.
Do not go to bed hungry. Hunger is not only “not an aunt,” he is not at all a fellow celestial to Morpheus. It is impossible to endure the pangs of hunger for as long as a person’s healthy sleep. Do not toss and turn under the rumbling of an empty stomach, silence it with a glass of yogurt or yogurt. A wonderful, proven remedy for centuries is a glass of warm milk with a spoon of honey. A glass of warm oatmeal jelly with juice from sweet berries and fruits will also provide comfort to your stomach and make falling asleep easier.
Do not forget about the prelude to sleep
Tune in to sleep in advance. Make yourself disconnect from everyday worries and problems. One hour, half an hour before going to bed, take a shower or bath, have an aroma session or do relaxing exercises. Turn off the TV, computer, better read or tie. The prelude to sleep should relax you, translate into a relaxing state.
The choice of methods for the prelude to sleep is completely individual. Choose the best option for yourself by trial, select its optimal duration. It is not so important whether it will last 10 or 40 minutes, it will be a warm bath or herbal tea, it is important that it evokes positive emotions in you. The ritual should gradually become a habit, you must develop a conditioned reflex - fall asleep after a prelude to sleep.
Keep yourself comfortable
In a dream, a person completely relaxes, and nothing should interfere with him in this. The bed should be optimally comfortable. It is necessary to choose a measure of elastic mattress that can provide the necessary support for the bends of the spine. Of particular importance is the selection of pillows, because it is she who provides relaxation of the neck muscles in a dream. The blanket should be light and warm, large enough. Bed linen is preferable to choose from cotton or linen. The same, from natural fabrics, should be underwear. It should freely encircle you without squeezing or disturbing your healthy sleep. How many hours can you feel comfortable in tight underwear without adjusting it during the day? Why, for the rest of the night, shackle yourself in a vice with shirts with a corset or tight-fitting boxers?
Eliminate external irritants
It is well known that people who rarely change their posture during the night wake up easily and already in the early morning feel a surge of vigor. Those who sleep restlessly, tossing and turning a lot, waking up in the morning, feel overwhelmed.
It turns out that in a dream we still react to external stimuli. Sharp sounds, flashes of light, drafts, awkward touches of a husband, a child, a cat lying nearby in the bed make us react with involuntary movements. This disrupts the alternation of the phases of sleep, destroys its cyclical nature, sharply reduces its quality. The morning after a hectic night, a person feels overwhelmed.
Therefore, try to ensure yourself complete rest throughout the night. Blind the windows to eliminate the effects of advertising flashes and headlights of passing cars. Fasten the sash so that the popping window does not interfere. Get your pet to do without you at night. Encourage the baby to sleep in his crib. Buy a bed more spacious so that your husband and I do not interfere with each other.
Fight Hypoxia
During sleep, your body should be adequately saturated with oxygen. The room must be ventilated before going to bed; you can leave the window open at night. It is impossible to ensure a healthy sleep in a stuffy room. How many hours in the stuffy will you survive without harm while waking? And for the period of sleep do not deprive yourself of fresh air.
But do not supercool the air in the room, its optimal temperature should be from 16 to 18 degrees Celsius.
Did you manage to sleep well? You achieved what you wanted? Waking up in the morning, immediately get up, do not lie down, even if it's too early. Your brain is already involved in activities, provide the necessary field for it. Use early awakening as a trigger for a cheerful day. Indeed, forcing yourself to fall asleep again, you violate the correct alternation of phases and sleep cycles, completely level the effectiveness of sleep achieved with such difficulty. This may result in lethargy upon subsequent awakening. Do not let your efforts be in vain. Sleep soundly and be healthy!